Candy [DVD]

Candy is a masterpiece about love and addiction. It started filming on January 27, 2005 and was released on February 15, 2006. Candy is 1.000 times better than Trainspotting (and Trainspotting was really good) and 1.000 times less known than Trainspotting. Candy is a touching and strong love story full of despair, hope, regrets, dreams & failures. The story does not try to judge, punish or teach. There are no good and bad guys. Candy is a human and honest portrayal of the hell of heroine, a story about real love and a movie that will break your heart into a million pieces. Heath describes the movie like “a film of love (…) not a story about heroine”. Heath explains: “Heroine is involved but I think that the beauty of this film [is that] it’s not exploding heroine or glorifying it in any way (…) It’s a tragic story of love”. Director Neil Armfield was a bit hesitant about using Heath as Dan, since he thought that Heath had a natural energy that was heroic, and Dan was grubby and edgy. But, again, it was Heath’s performance in Monter’s Ball that “got him” the role. Luke Davies (the writer of the book upon which the movie is based and screenwriter of the movie, together with director Neil Armfield) wrote a beautiful and touching article about Heath after Heath’s death; he describes Heath as a talented, generous, kind and sincere human being, and says: “It was Monster’s Ball that convinced Neil Armfield that Ledger was the one for Candy“. What attracted Heath to the project was the novel, which he describes like a “tragic love affair with both the drug and each other”, the screenplay and the fact of being allowed to use his own accent, which he didn’t do since Two Hands and 10 things I hate about you: “shooting a film using my own accent was attractive … I haven’t done that for 8 years. I was looking forward to feeling liberated from … having to perform with an accent … It was a sense of freedom. I was able to mumble in my own accent, to breath in my own accent, to improvise freely”. Abbie Cornish gives a breathtaking performance. Heath says about Abbie: “… she’s incredibly talented … She relies a lot upon … instinct and the magic of the scene, and she keeps it real and she’s a very grounded human being, very talented obviously, very beautiful… I could not have asked for a better Candy”. I must say that Abbie is the strongest and most brilliant female character of all of Heath’s movies. I’d go further and say that two of the most beautifully portrayed love stories in cinema history are the ones of Ennis and Jack, and Candy and Dan. Candy is a real jewel. Director Armfield is awesome and the cast (Heath, Abbie and Geoffrey Rush) is superb / Antonia Tejeda Barros (Spain).P.S. Unfortunately, the DVD does not have ENGLISH subtitles and, if English is not your native language (like it happens to be in my case), sometimes there are words that are difficult to understand, due to the Aussie accent and slang. The DVD is packed with very exciting EXTRAS.

Abbie Cornish once again proves that she is an incredibly talented young actor, and Heath Ledger is excellent too.It's a story that's been told many times before, but their portrayal of a young couple in love spiralling deeper and deeper into drug addiction is exemplary. This is a gruelling film that spares us none of the details of the humiliation and indignities addicts will put themselves through to feed their habit, yet it's told with such compassion and complete lack of judgement, that you desperately want these two young people to pull through and live 'happy ever ever'.Add to this great direction, clever camera work and a moving supporting performance from Geoffrey rush and you've got a film that's well worth watching.

The directors and actors got the balance right it's one of them films that stays with you and it's heartfelt. Realistic on point and a gritty tragedy of two lovers, pair of junkies the outcome is that you know it won't end well for the couple it's a mess over the years what happens to them on heroin it's destructive and sad. And by the end of it they are two separate people more than a married pair and had to quit their addiction to drugs and as well as to each other. Once they became physically separated and Candy has a breakdown. Its accurately portrayed the whole thing. It seems to break Dan at the very end like he's matured and knows they are toxic for each other when Candy returns full of health he doesn't want to see her at first because he knows she's better off without him. She smiles and him but he cries instead it very moving to watch.

« When I first met Candy, those were like the days of "juice" when everything was bountiful (…)«Here is the deepest secret nobody knows. Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart... I carry your heart, I carry it in my heart.(…). We had a lot going for us. We'd found the secret glue that held all things together.In a perfect place, where the noise did not intrude, our world was so very complete… »Brilliant, realistic, intense, intelligent movie ! Soul shocking performances by both Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. They are absolutely brilliant !A very strong movie... So many intense feelings... A pure piece of art from Australia...RIP Heath. We miss you so much.!

I bought this movie as I read a review in Empire magazine about it and I love Heath Ledger. I knew it was going to be a difficult movie to watch as it was about drug addiction. I was stunned by the effect this film had on me. I don't want to watch it again but I will never forget it. I am totally sympathetic to people to suffer with addictions and this film has just confirmed my thoughts on this. People don't intend to become addicts. They just slip into it and can't get out. An amazing movie.

Shocking story that will prevent anyone thinking of heroin from doing heroin. Couple of scenes explained are so graphic that it brought me to tears. Very good read.

Amazing film, very close to the book